Corrugated Sky Publishing

Small Press - Big Ideas

TGIO – Hasta la Vista NaNo!

Time’s up! It’s over! Say goodbye, NaNo! How did we all do? Did we make it past the finish line? Hopefully everyone met their goals. Even if you didn’t, there is no reason to despair. You took a great step into a big scary world. That is an important step. Now what?

Now, you set that manuscript aside. It doesn’t matter if it is a full manuscript or a partial one, put it down. Don’t look at it. Don’t think about it. Enjoy your end-of-year holidays and pretend that the last thirty days didn’t happen. Breathe. We like to advocate for self-care here at Corrugated Sky. Besides, if you continue to attack your NaNo masterpiece, your eyes might go cross. True story.

Take a Break

It is as important to step away from a project as it is to dive head first into it. It is December, rejoice in the end of this year’s NaNoWriMo and celebrate your accomplishments. You’ve earned it, you deserve the break; your imagination deserves that break. Read something new, take up knitting, go paint something at your local paint shop. All of these things still enhance your creative mind without trying to pry more words from an empty well. Refill your well.

Get it Done

Then, in a month, maybe two, pick up that manuscript again. Don’t just let it collect dust. It deserves to be finished, polished, and shared with the world. Start slow. If you didn’t finish in November, now is the time to complete that manuscript. Actually put ‘the end’ on the final page. If you did finish, take it one chapter at a time. Pull out all the spelling mistakes, make sure the grammar is OK. And those plots – don’t forget to check the plots. Sometimes there are holes that can be filled. Take your time.

Most importantly, however, let someone else read your work. Even if only one other pair of eyes looks over those pages, let it be seen. Your manuscript is an extension of you, be proud of it, proud of yourself. We most certainly are.